For elite athletes, the prospect of entering the employment market can be daunting. However, a new recruitment agency that specialises in finding jobs for athletes, as well as officers in the Armed Forces, is looking to help Olympic sportsmen and women make the transition into the corporate world.

Rob Williams, who won silver in the men’s lightweight rowing four, and Annie Panter, a bronze medal winner in the women’s hockey, have enlisted the company’s help to find internships.

Add-victor, which says it focuses on candidates with strong academic track-records, launched earlier this year and was set up by former Harlequins and England rugby player Steve White-Cooper and ex-banker Tom Onions.

The business will generate most of its revenue from running a traditional recruitment model. Typically, recruiters are paid a fee based on a percentage of a successful candidate’s base salary. The agency has already found jobs at City fund manager Henderson for Laura Bartlett, who won bronze in women’s hockey at London 2012, and Marcus Bateman, a reserve rower for the British Olympic team.

“I always felt that the success that I had came down to what I got from sport,” said Mr White-Cooper, who added he found the move away from rugby difficult.

“It’s very important that we can find the right individual for the right role. I think historically recruitment companies have been guilty of pushing people into jobs simply for taking a commission.”

The firm has also formed partnerships with companies in finance and retail to help athletes secure internships so they can try out corporate life, even if they are still training to compete in future competitions.

Mr Williams, 27, went to add-victor to help him find internships and is interested in investment banking. He had been studying while training for the Games, and was awarded a PhD in biophysics earlier this year.

“It’s kind of like coming off a cliff,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. “We got our medals, we stood up in front of 30,000 people going nuts and then you’ve finished, and where do you go from there?”

Ms Panter, 28, who studied maths and economics at Nottingham University, is interested in gaining experience in the finance sector.

“In a sport like hockey, no matter how successful you are during your career, you’re only ever going to have enough to support yourself while you’re playing,” she said.

“Especially looking at something like finance, it’s not something you necessarily think that you will be able to just jump into at the age of 30 when your peers have already been working their guts out in that industry.”

Add-victor founder Steve White-Cooper is not the only sportsman to have carried his success on the pitch into the business world

Phil Edmonds

The ex-England spin bowler has interests in oil and mining and sold Central African Mining and Exploration to ENRC in 2009. His wife is an author and the couple’s estimated fortune is £14m.

David Whelan

Former Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra footballer founded retailer JJB Sports in 1977. He has since sold his stake in the ailing firm.

David Lloyd

Tennis player and Davis Cup captain set up a chain of fitness and racquet clubs, which are now owned by London & Regional Properties.

Francis Lee

After a successful career as a footballer, including playing for England, Mr Lee moved into toilet roll manufacturing.